What does healthy eating mean to you?

Have you heard of the phrase old habits die hard? This is the same for eating habits. I am sure some of you recognize that what you didn't like as a kid, you still tend to avoid it.  That is why it is important to develop healthy eating habits at this stage so it can be carried out throughout the rest of your life.

A good question to ask yourself is what is considered as healthy eating? Is it follow the Canada's food guideline? Is it listening to your mother? or what your University has to say? Watch the video below to find out what some of your HealthyU students said.

Maintain a Healthy Eating Lifestyle

It’s been 9 weeks since we started the HealthyU blog. Its been an amazing 9 weeks of sharing what healthy eating means to us as university students. We hope you have been enlightened that healthy eating is doable and is within your reach.

Below are a few things to keep doing to sustain a healthy eating lifestyle:

• Eat a balanced meal containing fruits, vegetables, grain products, dairy products is an important step towards a happy and healthy lifestyle (WHO, 2015).

• Stability- Making a healthy food choice as a university student includes budgeting and planning ahead. It’s important to plan ahead and make meals than grab something at the campus cafeteria. Planning ahead saves you money and you’re less likely to spend outside. 

Set yourself up for success! Start your day off right by making breakfast or packing breakfast, healthy snacks/nuts before leaving home for the day. Be your food environment! http://bit.ly/1EOHaNy

Bringing Sexy Back.... by Eating Healthy!!

There are a lot of rumours online about things that can help your sexual health. Many of these things are just rumours with very little evidence to prove that they are helpful. Today we are going to look at a few essential vitamins and minerals that have some evidence showing that they are needed for sexual health. 

Vitamin A is used in changing cholesterol into steroid hormones. Steroids are used in the production of sex hormones in both men and women. So if you want to have a healthy sex drive you need to eat foods with adequate vitamin A. These foods include eggs, liver, and milk as well as some meats like poultry and seafood

Vitamin B6 is also needed for sex hormones – but in particular is related to the decrease of prolactin hormones – which are a good things because prolactin in high amounts causes a decreased sex drive. Many food preservatives found in processed foods can decrease B6. You should also pay attention to B6 if you are taking in plenty of alcohol. Foods that contain B6 include liver, nuts (especially walnuts), wheat germ, brown rice, yeast and salmon.

Eating for beauty

Today we are going to be talking about how food influences your body. Have you heard that vitamin E gives you healthy skin? The nutrients you put in your body changes how you feel and influences the way you look. Adequate nutrition keeps your body functioning at its best, meaning it’s looking its best. Vitamin deficiencies decrease the body’s metabolic mechanisms leading to negative effects on the body that can be very harmful.

Macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are both essential to a healthy diet. Miconutrients play a role in supporting skin (physical barrier, cellular immunity and antibody production, which a crucial to maintenance of skin equilibrium (Humbert, 2011).

The cells of the body are composed of proteins that support biological processes. Proteins are composed of amino acids that are supplied by consumption of animal and vegetable sources. Collagen is a protein that controls skin elasticity. Deficiencies in amino acids have been shown to be associated with hair loss (Ryan, 1996).

Beat the blues with food

‘You are what you eat’ is an old saying. But it does have some truth to it. Some of us might have experienced, in one way or the other, how food changes our emotions. Meals like the big Thanksgiving make us feel drowsy and tired while the fresh morning smoothie gives an energizing quick start to the day. So what we eat has a significant impact on how we feel.  There is considerable evidence to suggest how nutrition can impact mental as well as physical health. Oddy et al found that poor mental health outcomes in adolescents aged 13-15 were associated with a Western dietary pattern (a diet high in red and processed meats, take-out, and sugary and refined foods). Better mental health outcomes were found in those who had a higher intake of fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables (Oddy WH, 2009).

Carbohydrates provide glucose, which is a preferred energy source for erythrocytes and nerve cells, including those of the brain. When we eat carbohydrates, they trigger the release of insulin that helps blood glucose enter the cells. Glucose is a vital fuel to brain and muscles and helps us with the ability to concentrate and focus. As insulin levels rise, it leads to increased serotonin levels in brain, which is a chemical that has a calming effect. Perhaps, this is why we often crave for carbohydrate rich food when we are under stress. Eating regular, healthy breakfast and meals with carbohydrates including wholegrain, vegetables, fruits, legumes and low fat dairy would provide enough glucose in blood (Arens, 2014).

Eating food insufficient in vitamins and minerals affects energy, mood, and brain function. In general, plenty of fruits and vegetables and wholegrain cereal foods, with some protein foods, including oily fish would ensure a sufficient supply of nutrients for good physical and mental health. The table below shows the effect of missing vitamins and minerals and sources to replenish them in your diet. 

Eating With Friends

If you have been following our blog, you know we talk about healthy eating. We have focused a lot on nutritious foods, and sharing tools to help you cook for yourself. But eating involves far more than just food. There are many social aspects of meals that are an integral component of the eating process. When I think about my favourite meals, I don’t simply think about the nutrients that I am consuming. I think about where I am, who is with me, the sounds, the smells, the taste, the feelings, and perhaps even laughter shared with others. Eating is a social activity and a way of interacting with others. Research shows that social isolation is a factor that interferes with the ability to eat well. Therefore, the social experience around meals can make a big difference to your food consumption. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies social engagement as a strong determinant of health. Friendship and social relations help build strong support networks and provide us with emotional and practical resources we all need. It is this sense of belonging that has a powerful protective effect on health. Nutritious meals are also an important determinant of health, so why not boost your health status by incorporating social gatherings with healthy meals.

Did you know that you are more likely to try new foods when eating with a group of people (Vanderbilt, 2013)? I don’t know about you, but I am often guilty of falling into the routine of eating the same foods every week. By enjoying foods with friends/family we are more likely to include these new foods in our future meals. Just a few weeks ago I had never tried kale before, but after trying it with friends I loved it and even learned to make my own kale chips! Friends are a support system to try out new foods. When you surround yourself with a variety of new foods you have more opportunities to incorporate more vitamins, minerals and nutrients into your healthy diet.

We are also much more mindful when eating with friends. This means that we take more time to enjoy and savour the foods we are eating. By eating with company, we tend to engage more in conversation, which slows down your meals (Vanderbilt, 2013). This gives your body time to feel full because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to tell your body you are full (Vanderbilt, 2013). Since you slow down your mealtime, you are less likely to overeat.

Send us a pic of you eating with friends and we’ll post it on one of our social media platforms!

EWF (2012). Eating With Friends Project retrieved from: http://nht.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/EWF-benefits-docFINAL2014.pdf

Vanderbilt (2013)Together is Better: Why Eating Together Promotes Good Health. Retrieved from  http://www.vanderbilt.edu/recreationandwellnesscenter/wellness/wp-content/uploads/The-Science-Behind-It-Together-is-Better.pdf

Tips for Eating Out

As I mentioned in one of my old posts, I used to be a dine-out-holic (read my old post HERE) I still do eat out time to time but now that has decreased tremendously.  I used to eat out a lot in my hometown because I had easy access and also because it was a social event. Now I eat out at restaurants maybe once in 2 weeks. This change was easy for me to adopt because of my physical and social environment.  I don't have a car so I am unable to have easy access to take-out foods; my friends are doing their assignments/ readings every single day so we don't really get the chance to meet up and go for dinner. So eating at home is somewhat inevitable and beneficial in cost savings and also for my health.

Since school is now coming to an end, I started to think about ways to maintain my healthy habit without pushing my friends away since my social interactions are important to me. According to the European Food Information Council, the impacts of social influences can be shown when one or more persons affect others' eating behaviour directly or indirectly. We may not realize that this is happening and this is because social influences can occur both consciously or subconsciously (European Food Information Council, 2004).